Not to Remember
by Hyuuga no Shiranai
Summary: Some AU. As a five year old kid, Uzamaki Naruto was taken from the Konoha Training Ground. The next time anyone in Konoha sees Naruto he is not the ambitious kid he was supposed to be. A lone wanderer, the 12 year old boy must now try to regain his memory
1. Prologue

**Not to Remember**

**By: Hyuuga no Shiranai**

**A Naruto Fanfiction**

**Prologue**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

Thunk! Vibrating out in fast waves, the sound of a small ninja dagger lodging itself firmly into the broad brown trunk of a tree brought a smile to the face of the small five-year-old boy who had thrown of it. Beaming at the small dagger, the boy was happy that after five tries, he had successfully hit his target at last. Steadily walking over the child relieved the tree of his burden with a hard tug that caused him to fall backwards and skid slightly in the dirt. Quickly getting up and looking around the training ground to make sure no one had seen his fall, he turned around to pack up his other small weapons and headed down the path that would lead him to his proud town. He was hurrying at a fast pace since his teacher, Iruka, was going to treat him to ramen for his improvement in his class. Stepping in the way of the young kid was a figure of who looked down on the boy and stood still, arms crossed. Coming to a brisk stop, the child looked up at the person who had stopped him; happy he had succeeded into not crashing into him.

"May I help you please, sir?" The boy asked, in a polite manner like he had been taught. Sandaime Hokage had told him to be polite to everyone he met and since he was of the few people in the whole Konoha village that liked him; Uzamaki Naruto did everything the old man said. The figure, now determined to be a man, looked down at Naruto. Whether or not their eyes were meeting the five-year-old could not be told due to the fact that the man was wearing a long hood that cast his entire face in dark shadows similar to the new moon. Moving his hand, the man laid it on Naruto's shoulder and placed it in a strong, firm grip.

"You are to come with me, fox child." His voice was cold and rough and made the boy cringe. Two small hands were placed upon the large hand and tried to pry it off of him. He didn't like this man and he didn't know why he had called him 'fox child' when he was clearly not a fox. One thing he did know, though, was that he wanted to get away from him. A small fear was starting to appear in Naruto's eyes as the grip only tightened at his efforts. "No use, fox child. I got orders that you are to come with me and I never fail to do an order."

Naruto scratched the man with his small fingernails but he didn't flinch and only seemed to become agitated. Looking back up at the man for a second glance, Naruto became angry and being the small child he was, he did something without thinking. Opening his mouth escaped words formed, "My name is not fox child! My name is Uzamaki Naruto and I am going to be the 5th Hokage so you can't take me away, Meanie!" He shouted at the man. Slap! A red stain began to form on the small cheek and the man withdrew both hands before taking the boy's wrist and pulling him along forcefully.

"I ain't going to take the ramblings of a four-year-old brat so shut up. Your coming and there is nothing you can do about it." Anger was stealthily embedded in the voice as well as the hint of threat. This was a person who was not afraid to kill a kid. Now in the sunlight, the shadow had disappeared some, letting Naruto know that the man was tan skinned and had silver hair, about twenty years of age. These, though, were not what he concentrated on. The eyes of the man were bright neon green and they were deadly, scaring him. Scrunching up his face, Naruto began to cry loudly.

"But b-but I-I'm fi-five not f-our…." He started but stopped and willingly went with the man since he believed him when he said that he could not do anything about it. Things flashed before his eyes and he realized they were memories and regrets. He was going over the things in his life that had happened from when he had started to remember. A man showed up in his memories that he had seen only in the sculpted mountain that held the faces of all the Hokage of Konoha and he was confused to knowing when he had ever seen the man who died so close to the day of his birthing. These thoughts were taken away when he thought of Iruka and the current Hokage and he began to cry harder. A hand grabbed his yellow hair and pulled hard, causing the kid to cry out in pain, tearing streaming even quicker down his face following the moist paths of the first tears.

"I said _shut up_! Can you or can you not follow orders, stinking fox child!" The man yelled at him. Slowly Naruto stopped his crying and stayed silent, looking at the ground. After an hour of silence the man smiled and patted the kid on the head. "Maybe you are not as useless as I had thought."

Sitting on a stool with a cool bowl of ramen noodles in front of him, Iruka waited for his pupil to show up. Today Naruto had begged him to wait for him, to let him come by his self. After a while of arguing he had not been able to contain his permission inside and the boy had gone off for some training. Looking at the clock and the blackness of the night he was regretting his decision. Standing up, he left some money for the dish he had not touched and walked through the small rectangles of cloth. At a brisk pace he entered the training grounds and surveyed the area. Small ninja tools were lying packed up on the ground near a tree and he ran over to them. Taking them into his hand he read the name and bit his tongue in doing so. He ignored the pain as the warm liquid filled his mouth with a metallic taste. It was Naruto's.

Placing the petite bundle in his pocket he took off at a run. A building on a mountain was his destination and with no thought at all he soon came to the top of the spiraling stairs. Balling his fists, he pounded on the door before withdrawing his hand. Creaking, the door opened and the 3rd Hokage stood before him, curious as to who had caused the ruckus. A surprise expression came upon his face when Iruka stood before him carrying a child's pack of tools.

"Hokage-sama…it's Naruto…he's gone."

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**Well...how do you like it? This is the prologue...the beginning. In other words the next chapter is going to contain a huge time jump. Just warning you **


	2. Chapter 1

**Not To Remember**

**A Naruto Fanfiction**

**Chapter 1**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

A sharp wind blew threw the trees and rustled large strands of blond hair in all directions as if it wasn't messed up enough on its own. Stopping for a small, short break after a five-hour walk; a twelve-year-boy rested against the trunk of a knarled tree and he knelt down, sitting uncomfortably on top of one of its twisted roots. Banging his head lightly against the trunk, he tried to think of anything to pass some time as he had exhausted all other forms of entertainment in the last few hours. Nothing came to him in mind although he didn't have much time to think all that much to begin with due to a sharp instrument, dull silver in color, creating a noise right next to his ear as it lodged itself firmly the tree, barely missing him. Immediately standing up, Naruto looked at the ninja tool for a few moments before pulling it from the tree, leaving a small slit where the kunai had been. He knew that he had heard the sound once before in his life and he was staring at it, in hopes that it might bring a fragment of what he so preciously missed. The hiss of metal cutting through air at a fast pace once again caused him to jump instinctively into the tree he had just been sitting against. Resting on the limb of a lower branch, he leaned as far against the trunk as he could, looking down at the scene below him. Four people walked slowly and cautiously into view to the place where he had just been standing. Ninja head protectors adorned their attire with what he had been told by someone was the Konoha, The Village of the Hidden Leaf's symbol. He felt yet another pang of familiarity but the fragments still eluded him, making him grow more frustrated that he already was.

"Way to go Sasuke!" The voice belonged to a pink haired girl and from the sound of it, Naruto guessed that she talked a lot and that it grew annoying after a while. She was average in size and her light pink hair the shade of blooming cherry blossoms was longer than what he would have expected from a female ninja, especially since it was not even kept in a hair tie. Sasuke, the boy of whom the girl was congratulating, ignored her loud words and looked at the tree. After a few moments of silence he placed a finger on a slit in the wood that was left by the kunai that Naruto had pulled. "There is one missing."

He had a solemn voice, as if he did not enjoy life or he had had a hard one so far. Naruto concluded that he must not have much fun in his life and, instead, dedicated his time to some life goal. A thoughtful expression appeared on the girl's face and the other two, a young boy and an older man, who was wearing the vest of a jounin, turned the heads to Sasuke. Except for the older man, everyone looked about his age. The jounin, who was sporting a navy blue mask and a wore his head protector over his left eyes, cast his uncovered eye towards the tree and rested them on Naruto, who froze up at his glance.

"I suggest you come down from there." Was all the jounin let come out of his mouth. The way he said it was odd, it was relaxed in a way that let Naruto know that he was thought of no threat. Unwilling, Naruto stood up from the tree limb and jumped down from his hiding place, landing on his sandaled feet with a slight noise. In his hand, he held out the ninja dagger for the boy named Sasuke to take, assuming it to be his. It had gotten into the Naruto's mind for him to always do what people told him to but he didn't know who had taught him any manners and would have liked to thank the person who did, it having given him a lot in his life. The jounin eyes widened at his appearance in the light but his gaze made Naruto very uneasy. It was like the older man knew something that he didn't, the something being about himself.

"That is actually mine." The other boy told Naruto, roughly taking the kunai from his in one quick swipe before giving him a glare. Naruto turned his gaze to the boy who seemed to be over protective of his tools. The boy was gifted with silver hair and his eyes held a slightly darker shade, like dull platinum. He wore all dark clothing but it was rather loose, too loose for a what ninja would usually choose for his attire. Naruto shifted once more to his other foot and apologized to him for mistaking the ownership of the dagger. His voice was quiet and the jounin placed a hand on his shoulder; to his surprise it was gentle.

"Please excuse my student's rudeness. My names is Hatake Kakashi and these are my students: Sakura, Sasuke, and Sukou. What is your name and what are you doing so close to Konoha's territory?" Kakashi introduced while asking a question at the same time, his eye on Naruto. Naruto took a step backwards, not liking the friendly look he was being given. The way the jounin was acting definitely told him all he needed to know. Obviously he knew Naruto as otherwise he would not have let out the names of himself _as well as_ his students. Naruto gave out a long, hushed breath before he went into a debate on whether or not to answer the question that was asked of him. Now he knew he was at least near Konoha, the place that he had been given as his best clue to where he would find out about his past.

It was his only memory that he could call up. It took place on a warm day, around dusk. A warm wind blew through the trees and the open windows of many houses, ruffling the clothes that hung over the doors of shops and messing up the hair of those who were still outside. He was young, around three perhaps, and in a ramen stand that had a row of maybe ten or more stools. A man of whose face he could not see was turned to him but his younger self knew the person and apparently was close to him, giving him happy expression. The only words in the whole memory was, 'In Konoha anyone can achieve their dreams if they work hard enough Naruto.' It was the only thing that had led him to his name and it was this memory that had led him to the Konoha village. Looking at Kakashi, he decided that he would rather ask the man to take him into Konoha rather than him walk in by himself in case he got false direction. "My name is Naruto…"

An immediate reaction fell upon the ninja team, save for Kakashi who knew of his name the moment he laid eyes on him. Pushing Sasuke out of her way, Sakura made way to be in front of Naruto, pointing a rather sharp finger at his chest. A shocked expression adorned her face as her mouth fell agape for a moment, as if lost for words. Sukou was staring at the boy like he had come from another planet, perhaps Mars, before his mouth pulled into a thin line as if he was not too happy about his sudden appearance back into his life. Sasuke was the one that showed the least reaction of them all. He looked the boy over, paused for a few moments at Naruto's head and face before finally nodding, as if confirming for himself that it was indeed Naruto.

"Naruto it's me, Sakura! Dang, you really grew up to look like something; not at all like that idiotic kid that I used to know." The female ninja exclaimed, throwing her arms around him. Naruto blinked for a moment before looking at her like _she_ was crazy, pulling her off of him. Looking between the four people he stayed silent, as if he couldn't bring himself to say that he remembered none of them even though they knew him from somewhere and were probably his friends. Sasuke turned to look at Kakashi with a stern question look, hands in his digging into pockets.

"Sensei, why did you introduce us to him?" was all that merely came out of him mouth and Naruto paled, realizing that Kakashi might know that he remembered nothing. Kakashi gave him a small smile, as if he had figured out a big mystery that he had purposely laid out for them to find. Sakura leaned back, as if finally realizing something odd that had happened that she hadn't caught on before and Sasuke being Sasuke; had done it first once again. Sukou looked at Naruto for a moment before turning to his teacher for the information that he knew was being withheld from them, arms crossed. Sighing heavily, Kakashi turned to his pupils, his face stopping at each of them, before his eyes landed on Naruto.

"It's been six years has it not? Do you actually think Naruto would remember any of you from back then?" His answer was simple and apparently satisfactory, Naruto let out a breath of relief. Perhaps the jounin did not know after all but then a look of dread appeared on Naruto's face. _Six years?_ Having a hard time registering it, the news made him feel numb inside and he fell to the ground. Hands going through his hair he was shaking his head, trying to remember with all his might what happened in his life. He never thought that something must have gone wrong in his life, a kidnapping perhaps or maybe something else. He also knew that if he hadn't returned to Konoha then how would they be able to tell him what happened for most of his life. Pushing past them he ran to the direction they had come in he took off running as fast as he could manage to get to Konoha. It was his only lead still and he wasn't going to let it slip away because of something he did not remember.

With all of this the thing he hated most of all was his position; the look in Sakura's eyes when she found out that Naruto didn't remember who she was one of the worst he had ever seen in his memory. He hated how no one knew that it was not just them he didn't remember…he didn't remember anything up to the point where he had woken up in…that place…five months ago.

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**I'm sorry...I meant to have this up by last night but no dice...I had to go to bed by my parents (we live in a hotel room until we move into our real house in April...dad's military and we just came back from Japan in late Janurary.)**

**I want to thankthe fivewho reviewed, the person who favorited this story, the 13 people that chose to have alerts to this story, and the over 300 people who chose to even take a look at this story. Much appreciated "**

**-Shiranai**


	3. Chapter 2

**Not To Remember**

**A Naruto Fanfiction**

**Chapter 2**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

Wafting through the air like a dead weight attached to a spirit was a deafening silence that left a ringing in Naruto's ears. Uneasiness was creeping into the pit of his stomach; the only sound reaching his ears being the rustling of the wind in the trees as it blew astray a few leaves that traveled along the ground, rippling of clothing catching in the swift moving air, the crunch of sandals on dirt as a step was made, and lastly, the whish of multiple hair being blown this way and that by the air current. Providing some shade to the searing sun that had been overhead, the trees finally let Naruto realize why exactly Konoha was called the 'Village of the Hidden Leaf' and it made him calm for some reason. Feeling a light, quick tap on his shoulder, he turned around to look at the sea green eyes of the female member of the ninja team. She seemed to have tired of the silence and was trying to put an end to it by striking up a conversation with him.

"Where did you come from, Naruto? I mean, where were you all these years?" The kunoichi asked him; her voice never seeming more annoying to him in his entire record of memory, which was a calculating total of five months. Behind her, Sasuke stared at her with his dark black eyes, his look saying that at this moment she was the biggest idiot he had ever seen in his entire life. Sukou felt the same way about his teammate as he reached his hand out, knocking her head against the bottom of his palm. An immediate cry of pain from Sakura was all that Sukou needed to be satisfied with her punishment. Naruto simply turned a cold shoulder to the four of them. At the moment he didn't trust them enough to tell them anything about him or his dilemma and so he ignored the girl's question. Sakura turned to her teammates to give them accusing glares. "What the heck was that for?"

A hand was soon found to be placed upon his shoulder and by the size of it Naruto knew at once that belonged Kakashi. For a few moments he wondered what was the deal with him, Kakashi's hand, and his shoulder. Tilting his head upward to look at him the jounin, he received a sincere smile that could be seen only by the wrinkling in his exposed eye. "Don't mind Sakura and her questions. She is merely happy of your return and curious over your disappearance. We all are but we know that it is up top you to tell us."

Naruto gave him a nod before returning his head so he could look ahead of him. Though the temperature was excruciatingly warm with the summer, he was very cold inside of him as well as very pained. Sakura could never have known what had happened to him to cause him to be in his state…he didn't know himself. She didn't know and it was not her fault…in other words Sukou had no right to hit her. Pausing quickly in his steps, he stood there for a moment before he turned toward Sukou and pushed him hard onto the ground. Alarmed, Sukou did not have the time to catch himself while he fell and ended up sliding backwards slightly on his back, his head hitting the hard ground at a force that it was amazing he did not get a concussion from it. The fall was evident became very evident his black clothes when he arched his back and sprang upwards before he started to pat off the brown dirt. His silver eyes held nothing but anger for Naruto who merely looked at him with his arms crossed. "Don't hit a girl. It's not nice."

A warning look from Kakashi made sure that Sukou did not do anything to Naruto in return since Naruto would most likely lose as he did not appear to have ninja training. The silver-haired boy went ahead while muttering something that sounded like, 'I will go scout ahead'. A hand was over Sakura's mouth and its purpose was to hide the fact that she was biting her lip with worry, as she was the cause of this. "I apologize…I shouldn't have asked you that. It was not in my place…"

Looking over at Naruto for a moment before turning to the ground, Sakura merely tried to hide her own embarrassment and shame from her team and from the returned boy. Naruto continued to walk as if nothing had happened, his arms still crossed. He was puzzled, having not a single idea why Sakura being hit by Sukou had so suddenly angered him enough for him to commit a violent act. He closed his eyes, feeling the return of a memory, but otherwise he continued walking a straight as he could. A picture was beginning to form and take shape in his mind and he caught his breath and waited for it to completely come to him.

It was set in the early springtime when the cherry blossoms had been blooming for a few days, their petals already littering and dancing among the forest floor and traveling through the streets of Konoha. He saw himself running as fast as his small skinny legs could carry him, holding in his hand a small bouquet of the spring flowers that were attached to the wood stick from the branch of the tree he had extracted them from. He could not have been more than four years old and his face was beaming. A small girl was ahead of him and whom he was heading over to; it turned out that she was a much younger Sakura. She was sitting on the ground, crying, her hands covering her eyes and her bangs covering her hands. She looked delicate and fragile, as if she wasn't exactly real. He knelt down beside the girl, gave her a tight hug before taking her hands and enclosing them around the soft pink cherry blossoms. There he sat for a few moments before her stood up and put his hands on his hips; saying, "Don't cry, Sakura. Please don't cry." What had started out as an order turned into the plead of a small boy looking out after his crush and he didn't say anything else to her. Her small hands closed around the twig attached to the cherry blossom and she looked up at him with her tear-streaked face.

"Thank you Naruto. They are really pretty." She gave him a hugely grateful smile and in turn he smiled himself, telling her that the flowers were, "Not as pretty as you, Sakura-chan."

As the memory came to a close, Naruto now began to look at Sakura with a new light, sort of like a friend. At some point or another they must have been friends or she had some qualities that his younger self must have liked. She had triggered to him a memory…a precious memory and he thought that this was a good payment for him cheering her up all those years ago. He beamed at her with a wide smile, placing his hand on her shoulder and looked at her sea green eyes with his sky blue ones. "Thank you." Was all that he said to her. She blinked at him for a moment as if she did not understand what had just happened but went a long with it instead. When he removed his hand from his shoulder she edged towards Sasuke, trying a conversation with him instead being to weirded out by Naruto. Behind Naruto, Kakashi gave him a an unnoticed smile and coming back Sukou informed them that they were within a minute's walking distance from the village.

The villagers that happened to be closest to the gate immediately stopped their work to look at the strange boy that was by walking among one of the newest of the genin ninja team. Very few of them were to noticed the similarities between the pre-teen they saw before them and the small boy from long ago that was taken away from them. Nearest to the gate was a group of three genin, two boys and a girl and…once again with a jounin ninja. Naruto was beginning to see a pattern in this formation but he had enough sense to keep the questions he had to himself.

This group of people was the one that were looking at him the most, their eyes wide. He looked over himself and his eyes rested on the female member of the team. Her small gentle face was fixated on his, a happy and greatly relieved look in her eyes. Had she been waiting for him to come back to Konoha? Shaking this question away from his mind he continued to examine her.

One thing that he could tell that she was a very shy girl but by now he wasn't looking at her nervous habits or at her attire that was too warm for summer nor were his eyes resting around her small tiny frame. He was looking at her pale face framed by little tufts of purple hair and a solid line of bangs. It was in this face that contained a pair of pale white eyes, something that struck out at him as very familiar to him. In fact, everything about this girl was familiar to him and looking at her caused a name he had never heard before pop into his mind. _Hinata_…he guessed that it was her name and it didn't fit…she did not look as if she had had a good life either and she certainly did not look like a sunny place(1). He could not conclude how he was able to remember her name out of everyone else's and to say the least; it made him feel rather awkward. Looking to see if he could recognize her partners, Naruto saw a boy with a white happy looking puppy and another boy he would just rather avoid due to the vibe he was getting from him.

"Naruto?" A voice called out in all the silence. Naruto's head immediately spun to look for the owner of that particular voice, the voice from the man in his most precious memory that had brought him here in the first place and had given him his name. His eyes were to meet a man with a long scar across the bridge of his nose that made him wonder how he happened upon it. Brown hair in a ponytail that pointed out in almost all directions and being adorned with the jounin vest he looked like the average ninja. Being pulled into a quick warm hug, Naruto didn't really have time to examine the others in around him that had started in a wave of hushed words around him. Whispering…it was hushed whispering from everyone. The words were cold and the voices held a distinct dislike for him being there. Anger rising at the reacting when he did nothing he pushed the man away he looked up to meet his brown eyes.

"Who the heck are you?" Naruto asked him, not meaning to seem cold and distant but that was how it came out and he regretted it soon after. The eyes of the man took on a deep sad look while the face turned to an expression of pain. This was obviously not the reaction that the man had been expecting to come out of Naruto's mouth but after a few moments of silence he made to seem to come to the same take on things as Kakashi had told his students. Kneeling down, the jounin placed both hands on Naruto's shoulders and smiled brilliantly at him, surprised that Naruto did not wrench out of his grip.

"I'm Iruka…I was your teacher. Still like orange I see. How have you been all these years?" The smile made Naruto feel a little better at what he had just said, knowing he had been forgiven. It was the exact same kind voice and kind look and warm feeling that he had experienced from his memory and he was happy to put a face to the voice. Looking down at his plain orange shirt, he merely nodded to Iruka's note. This was something new for him to know; the fact that even six years ago he still loved the color orange. It made him wonder if he liked Ramen then too as he did now so much that no one dared take him to a ramen shop telling him that he could eat all he liked and they would pay for it.

In the background the whispering continued, growing harsher and colder as the seconds ticked by. It made Naruto turn to look at the faces of the villagers who immediately looked away and quiet at his gaze. It was just as he had thought; they did not want him to be there at all and had probably liked the fact that he was gone. Looking down to the solemn hard ground, he placed clasped his hands and held them together. Ironically surrounded by people who had gathered to make sure he had really had returned to the village, he was now experiencing an all too familiar feeling: loneliness. Once again the look on Iruka's face when he found out he didn't know him caused him to feel really bad inside.

"Iruka…I don't know how I've been all these years…I don't have any memory of anything until five months ago. I want to thank you though…my single memory of you allowed me to know my name." The village took on a different look at him, as if they felt sorry for his loss. Whispers of how pity of how he had no memory now arose and he chose to block them out. Looking around Hinata gave him a look as if to comfort him, to say that everything would be all right. This was before she disappeared into the crowd and then _he_ came up the dirt road.

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**(1): Hinata is supposed to mean 'Sunny Place' from what I understand.**

**Whew...over 700 hits, 16 reviews, 20 alerts, 2 C2's, and 5 favorites since the verybeginning (prologue)and I now submit the second. I want to thank everyone for the support...your drive makes me do these quick updates. Domo Arigatou (Thank you)!**

**Ok someone asked about pairing...I originally wasn't planning on any but obviously this chapter has both hints of Naruto/Sakura and Naruto/Hinata but nothing really definent...if you really want me to have pairings have a part of the storygo ahead and say which ship you would want...and note that Neji, Lee, Gai, Tenten, Orochimaru, Itachi, Gaara, and others are going to be in the story to but Naruto is still the amin character.**

**About Sukou: I realized that when I put Naruto in his position the normal team was short by one person. And looking at the names I continued to keep with the 'S' and so I invented Sukou and since the teams are 2 boys and a girl Sukou had to be a boy. He will have a bit to do with the story so but I aint gonna say anymore than his last name is 'Kitsu' and for those that know some Japanese look at the word a little and I gave you a clue.**


	4. Chapter 3

**Not to Remember**

**A Naruto Fanfiction**

**Chapter Three**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

**Author's Note: The following section is a dream until you see the '-------'**

The room was surrounded in darkness where even an owl or a cat would not be able find sufficient enough light to see. It smelled of fungi and was very wet…you could taste the moisture in the air and the taste was stale. Sitting in the room was a small boy whose age was of five years. He was sitting in small corner, hugging his knees and crying softly into his huddle form, the tears staining his cheeks. The only thing that was currently going through his head was, 'I mustn't let them see me cry. I mustn't I mustn't.'

If he had been able to see in the dark he would see that his shirt was deeply stained with the browning red liquid that was his own blood. Since he could not see his other senses were sharp and he could feel were the deep cuts on his palms and that alone would have made him cry if it were not for what he had been told. If not for what he had been told to do by the scary men who kept calling him 'fox child' instead on the his real name. Everything they had done to him in the short time he was there was still in his mind with a stinging freshness so sharp that he wished that he didn't remember…didn't remember anything about it at all. That he didn't have to become what they wanted him to become and he was merely having a dream where he would wake up the next day to practice his aim with the throwing stars.

Creakingly, a door opened, letting a pool of light into the room. The boy looked up to see who had come and in and he saw the same man who had cut his palms. A sinister look was in his eyes and an equally sinister smile was playing on his lips. Quickly the five-year-old wiped his eyes and face as to get rid of the evidence of his crying. With a movement with the hand the man told him to get to his feet and he obeyed as fast as he could.

"How has my little fox child been feeling? I hope he has been doing well and been a good boy. I can't have a weak fox child and you are not weak now are you?" The man asked him, his voice holding a fake sense of caring. Shaking his head, the young one looked towards the ground, anywhere but to the face of the man. "Is that any way to address me fox child?"

"No Master sir. I have not been crying…I am a good boy like you said." The quivering in the boy's face was evident and is made the man smile. Walking over to the boy he knelt down and placed a finger on his stomach.

"Are you sure about that? I wouldn't want the fox child to be punished for lying." Withdrawing a finger the man balled his fist and punched Uzamaki Naruto hard in the stomach.

-----------

Immediately Uzamaki Naruto rose from his bed, having broken out in an extremely cold sweat that made his clothes cling to his small frame. His breathing was heavy and he had trouble making sense of where he was at the current moment. The room he was in had a nice glow given off by the full moon that was peering through the window outside in the night sky. In a few moments Uzamaki Naruto remembered that he had now taken residence once again in Konoha, safe from the horrors of the reoccurring dream he had had every single night that he could remember. Progressing very little in the long nights it had been occurring in, the dream seemed to hold a key to something he felt was important but it put him on a severe mental strain, the reason why he kept waking up from it with a difficulty to remembering who and where he was.

Lightly stepping onto the floor, Naruto walked over to the kitchen and looked around the apartment he was now in. He had first seen _him_ walking over to where he was when he had first reached the gates, the Sandaime Hokage. Surprisingly, Naruto immediately knew who he was and instantly guessed that this was someone that people did not just simply forget. The respect that he must have had for this man as a five-year-old child was still in existence when he had looked into the old man's eyes eyes. He remembered still the first words that came out of the old man's mouth, very clearly as if he were speaking them right now.

"Good to have you back, Uzamaki Naruto." This being said with a genuinely welcoming smile on the face and Naruto automatically understood and knew that for once someone in this town meant what they said. Naruto bowed down to him respectfully and the villagers eyed this in a way that maybe let them know that they might think that he was not a total impudent nothing after all. The Third Hokage looked over him whilst an amused look came upon his lips and stayed there. "You seem to have had ninja training…"

"When I was five maybe…" Naruto replied to him, truthfully. Then he did not realize then that the old man had meant training all of his life…far from just when he was of five years but continuing since then. Laughing at the comment, the Third Hokage looked at him once again and commented on how happy he was to see that Naruto had retained his sense of humor. He pulled from his folds of clothing a head protector that was adorned with Konoha's symbol. The old man looked at him before saying, "You will get this eventually, Naruto. We need to see where you are in your training and if you should take the path you wanted to take all those years ago. We don't know what had happened when you left but together we might just find out."

"I haven't had any training since I was five…Sorry to be rude but it's true." Naruto muttered, his voice barely being audible through his gritted teeth. The twelve-year old was looking at the man like he was a senile old fool. A frown entered the man's happy expression but melted away to be replaced by an all-knowing smile.

"That you remember that is." The Third Hokage pointed out, pocketing the head protector back into his folds of red scarlet clothing before looking at the boy before him. At a sudden lost for words, Naruto could find no way to counter this comment and flushed red. He was beginning to be confused but that wasn't something that was uncommon nowadays for him. It would make a bit of sense though…how he was agile, how he could use the tools, how he knew the ranks and other things. This, however, still did not erase the question of who taught it to him. Who after the Konoha had taught him the ways of the ninja? A hand appeared on his shoulder and he realized that is was Kakashi's. "I will teach him, Hokage-sama."

That was what had happened this morning and now it was nightfall nearing the next morning. The village was kind enough to give him an apartment and some clothes, an orange jumper with parts of it that were white, blue, and red. He had also received the standard ninja tools and the notice that he was to report to the academy the next morning at nine. Even after five bowls of ramen, Naruto was still having a hard time digesting it all while juggling his questions. For some reason he believed that the dreams he had been having would answer them all.

* * *

**Ah...sorry to say but that will become a pattern. This whole updating like crazy during the weekends and then nothing during the week. The reason is this...I have little time during the week days...before I even can go on the computer I have to do an hour and thirty minutes worth of homework (60 minutes that are taking up by reading The Grapes of Wrath...anyway I reward your patience with an update...**

**Ah...so we now see a little bit of what happened these six years...mwahaha... well...comments are very welcome...and any questions will be answered if I can answered them.**


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